Building Blocks
by evieeden
Summary: Leah lost everything when she became a wolf, but maybe one member of the pack can give a little something back.
1. Chapter 1

**So I said I wouldn't start another multi-chap until my others were finished, but this idea got in my head and then wouldn't leave until I wrote it, so it's actually easier to just give in to my brain. Anyway, I hope very much that you like this new story and thanks for reading.**

**I don't own Twilight. I know, it's shocking, isn't it.**

**Building Blocks**

The howl of a wolf brought Leah out of her sleep. Bolting upright in her bed, she listened carefully until she heard an answering howl in the distance. Neither sounded urgent so her shoulders relaxed as she breathed out heavily in relief.

She had only finished her own patrol two hours earlier and she definitely didn't want to be forced out into the wet weather for a second time this night. Luckily, it seemed like the others had the situation all under control. They could come and get her if they needed her out there as well.

Taking another deep breath to calm her heartbeat down – her wolf was constantly alert for any danger – she flopped back onto her mattress and pushed her hair out of her face. Now that she was awake, she didn't know that she'd be able to get back to sleep again.

True enough, after forty-five minutes of tossing and turning, she gave up on any hope of rest and threw herself out of bed. Wrapping her robe around her, she headed downstairs to raid the fridge. Grabbing the last pint of ice cream which miraculously had not been found and devoured by Seth already, she rifled through the cutlery drawer for a spoon and then retreated back upstairs with her purloined treat.

Settling into her desk chair, Leah spun around as she dug into the ice cream. This was something she had always done when she was a stroppy pre-teen, moaning about her life while she stuffed her face and twirled in circles. It made her feel young and innocent once more, like she had been back when her biggest worries were keeping Seth out of her room and whether or not her chest would ever grow bigger.

She envied that girl now. She envied her ignorance and her naivety. She wished more than anything that she could go back to a time when the legends of the wolf protectors, imprinting and the cold ones were just legends told around a campfire by Billy Black and nothing more.

Annoyed with her wistful thoughts, Leah slammed her feet onto the floor bringing her spinning to an abrupt halt. The jarring of her movement jolted the ice cream she was holding, and a blob of it landed on her robe.

"Shit!"

She wiped at the mark, but just ended up getting the sticky treat all over her hand.

Barely resisting the urge to swear again, she set the food down and stripped off her robe, baring her skin to the night. Wiping the majority of the ice cream off her hand onto the robe, she ditched it in the laundry basket.

She was about to head for the bathroom and wash her hands when she heard an unexpected noise in the house.

Leah froze, but then relaxed when the familiar scent of pack caught her nose. She inhaled again and then identified the intruder as Embry. There was only one reason for him to be in her house right now and that was to fetch either her or Seth for an extra patrol. Bracing herself to go out again, she was half-relieved and half-annoyed when she heard him slip into her brother's room and wake him up.

She almost rushed out to volunteer to take her brother's place, but the pack were very easy-going on him in the first place, not making him run late patrols on school nights or getting him involved in anything too dangerous, so she decided to leave it be for tonight.

Once the two boys had left the house, she dashed across the hallway to the bathroom and cleaned herself up. Catching a glimpse of her appearance in the mirror over the sink, she scowled. Her shorn hair was sticking up from where her sleep had been so restless, and the side of her face had lines across it from the crease of her pillow. Irritated, she reached over and switched off the light. She could see just as well in the dark anyway, and now was not the time to be reminded of how unfeminine she felt.

Her lack of sleep was beginning to catch up on her now, despite the mini sugar rush from the ice cream, and as tiredness hit her, she felt the familiar sting of frustrated tears. It was always times like these in the middle of the night when the sheer hopelessness of her situation crept up on her.

Becoming a wolf had meant sacrificing everything – her father, her fiancé, her freedom, her scholarship, even her brother in many ways – and her confidence in herself and her own abilities had been all that she had left to cling to. To now be faced with her less-than-stellar appearance was a blow too many. Leah had always been proud of how she had looked, and she couldn't even bear to meet her own eyes in the mirror.

Sniffing pathetically, she wiped her face and barrelled out of the bathroom and straight into a warm body.

"Fuck!" she swore. She pulled back to see Embry's sheepish face. "What the hell are you still doing here, Call?"

He quickly released the grip he had taken on her arms and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. He had borne the brunt of Leah's sharp tongue along with Sam after she had phased, and he didn't want her to start on him again.

"Seth said that I could finish the casserole that was in the fridge before I went home since my mom's gone back to Neah Bay for the week. I heard you crying though so I thought I'd come up here..." His voice trailed off as he took in the look on her face. Valiantly he tried again. "So... are you alright?"

Leah forced a scowl onto her face. "I'm fine. Now get lost."

She tried to push past him, but Embry refused to move.

"Come on, Leah," he pleaded. "Don't be like that. You're obviously not okay. Look, you're crying."

He brushed the back of his fingers across her wet cheek, and to her surprise, as much as his, she didn't push him away. Her lack of reaction made him bold and he raised his other hand to cup her cheeks.

"Don't cry," he murmured. "You don't need to cry."

Instead of consoling her, his words just made her want to sob more. She could handle the pack's vitriol, their bitching and their scorn for her and her past relationship, but she didn't think she could stand it if they were actually kind to her. If they were kind to her then she might just like them.

"Get off me, Embry. Can't you at least let me get some pants on before you start trying to get into them?"

He jumped backwards quickly, slamming against the opposite wall as his gaze inadvertently wandered over her nude body. As quickly as his eyes had scanned over her, they jumped back up to her face and he ducked his head, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

Leah supposed she should be grateful that it wasn't Paul who had stumbled upon her. He would've made fun of her for crying and then leered over her naked body without shame.

"For fuck's sake," she muttered.

Storming past Embry back into her bedroom, she grabbed the discarded sheet from the bed and wrapped it around herself, tucking it under her arms. While her back was to him, she took the opportunity to wipe her face with the corner of the sheet. Embry had already seen her vulnerable once this evening, she wasn't going to give him anymore ammunition.

When she turned around again, Embry's eyes once again snapped to hers and it was strangely gratifying to her to catch him in the act of staring at her ass. Instead of smiling though, she frowned.

"Why are you still here, Embry?"

He swallowed and then seemed to gather his courage. "Why were you crying?"

Her frown deepened. She should've known better than to let her guard down, especially with any of the pack in her house. Show no weakness – that was the motto she had survived by since that fateful day that she had reached out a hand to her father and been greeted with a paw instead.

"None of your business."

His earnest face fell. She remained resolutely silent.

Eventually he sighed and his hand scrubbed tiredly at his face. "I'm trying to help you here, Leah."

"I never asked for your help," she quickly bit back.

He shook his head. "Why won't you let us in, Leah? We do care about you. _I_ care about you. Really. If you're upset then I don't want you be left alone."

"Quite the gentlemen, aren't you?" Her sarcasm was the only defence she had left.

Part of her wanted him to just leave her alone to wallow in her misery, but another part whispered that this was the first time that one of the pack, apart from her brother, had reached out to her. It felt sometimes like it had been forever since anyone outside of her family had cared about what happened to her.

She had lost her two closest confidants – Sam and Emily - in one fell swoop, and with them gone, loneliness had set in.

As if he could sense her wavering, Embry stepped closer.

"Come on, Leah. Just tell me. I won't laugh and I won't tell the rest of the pack. I'm not here to make fun of you; I just want to help."

Her eyes were watering up again. "I..." She couldn't make herself speak, couldn't air her fears out loud. They were such stupid fears too, stupid girly fears that Embry would never understand.

He took another step forward and clasped her shoulder. "Just tell me. What's wrong...?"

His concern was just too much. She snapped.

"You want to know what's wrong?! Look at me!"

In a fit of recklessness she tossed the sheet aside and bared herself to her pack mate.

"I'm the only fucking female in the pack. I have to hear the thoughts of my ex about the woman he left me for. I can't get any privacy. I haven't had a decent night's sleep in forever. And I'm a fucking mutant freak!"

Embry shook his head. "You're not a freak."

"_Seriously?!_ Look at me, Embry!" She gestured angrily towards her body. "I used to have a butt. I used to have tits. I used to have gorgeous hair and not have man muscles and I used to have more than one outfit and I used to wear heels and not be taller than every guy on the reservation."

The tears were streaming down her face with each pained confession.

"And it's such a stupid thing to be upset about, but it's just... it's just..."

She ran out of words and could only shake her head helplessly. She felt so stupid to have revealed all her petty worries like that. There were more important things to worry about than her appearance, she knew that Embry along with the rest of the wolf pack had their own issues, but for her, the stripping of her femininity was the final insult.

Aware that Embry was still staring wide-eyed at her, she blushed in embarrassment and spun around so she wouldn't have to look at him.

There was silence in the room and Leah clenched her eyes shut and inwardly cursed herself for her rant.

No wonder the pack didn't have any time for her. She was pathetic.

The floorboards creaked as Embry shifted behind her. Seconds later she felt the sheet she had discarded being wrapped around her carefully, concealing her body and her vulnerability once more. Once she was covered, he turned her around and drew her into his arms. For once, Leah let him comfort her without protesting. She needed the human contact that Embry was providing right now, even if she was too much of a coward to admit it.

They hugged for what seemed like an age and eventually Leah composed herself enough to feel like she could face him again. Responding to her unspoken cues, Embry drew back carefully, allowing her to save face.

"Will you be okay by yourself for the rest of the night?"

Trying to regain some of her previous assurance, despite the tears that still marred her cheeks, she scoffed at him weakly.

"Of course I'll be fine, Embry. I don't need you to hold my hand, you know."

For some reason, the return of her bitchy behaviour made him smile and he nodded.

"I'm glad to hear it. I'll see you later for the pack meeting then."

"Whatever." The usual harsh edge to her tone was missing from her voice and Embry's grin grew wider.

In a startling burst of confidence from the usually quiet wolf, he darted forward and pressed a hot kiss against Leah's forehead. He then vanished into the night as quickly as he had emerged.

Leah clutched the sheet to her body, a look of shock colouring her face. She had never witnessed Embry so bold before and even though she normally would have been mad with him, tonight a small smile tilted the corners of her mouth upwards.

As she climbed back into bed again and sleep gradually took hold once more, his parting whisper echoed in her mind.

"I think you're beautiful."


	2. Chapter 2

**So here's the second chapter, I hope you like it. Thanks to you all for reading.**

**I have to say here that I don't own Twilight; I wish I didn't have to say that.**

**Building Blocks**

Over the next couple of days, Leah was convinced that she had dreamt Embry's comments that night.

She went to the pack meeting the next day, her confidence somewhat restored, only for it to plummet as once again she was virtually ignored by everyone apart from Seth. Most of the boys were playing football with each other, only pausing to scoff food from the barbecue and listen to Sam's boring instructions about patrol and the lack of vampires in the state recently. They weren't interested in hanging out with her and she didn't know how long her patience could last watching Emily and Sam chew each other's faces off.

Embry wasn't even there, taking that evening's patrol instead, so it wasn't like she could ask him about what he had meant the night before.

She didn't even know if it did mean anything, or if he had just been kind in order to avoid her having a complete meltdown in front of him.

Still, she needed to talk to him, if only it was to threaten him not to tell anyone that he had seen her crying.

Unfortunately, life, and the rest of the pack, seemed determined to thwart her efforts to talk to Embry.

She wasn't scheduled to patrol with him at all and when they crossed each other's paths during pack gatherings, he barely seemed to notice that she was there. He was friendly, but nothing beyond that.

Leah was incredibly frustrated.

All she wanted was just...

She didn't even know what she wanted, not really.

Maybe it was the friendship he had offered, or the reassurance. Or maybe it was the sense that she could actually be an attractive woman again.

He had told her that she was beautiful. And she had believed him.

But that belief was beginning to fade with each passing day.

She threw herself into her duties, patrolling with a vengeance, even though there was nothing there, and took on extra shifts at the diner where she worked casually.

And every day she felt a little bit worse again. It was almost as Embry's quiet pronouncement had kept her going, like energy off a battery, and the longer she went without any kind of comfort or hope, the less and less energy she had.

Another pack bonfire loomed over her head like a black cloud, only this one was supposed to be for fun rather than for pack business. All the elders were attending so they could judge their protectors' behaviour and pontificate about the great honour that giving up your life to run around half-naked in the forest was.

It wasn't something Leah was looking forward to and she would have avoided it if her mother and Seth hadn't dragged her out of the house.

"Come on, Leah." Seth grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind him. "It's not that bad."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Sure, it's not. Burnt food, lots of imprints thrown in my face and then two hours of Billy talking about the great sacrifice the tribe's _sons_ make. What's not to love?"

Seth wrinkled his nose in sympathy, but Sue chided her daughter lightly.

"Leah, please don't be like that."

"I'm sorry," she apologised. "But it's bad enough that I have to be there, let alone have my presence be overlooked just because I'm female."

"I'm know, honey." Her mom slung an arm over her shoulders. "But they've been stuck in the past for so long that sometimes they need a kick up the ass to pay attention to the present too."

She hugged Sue to her side. "Thanks, Mom."

The beach was already crowded with people by the time that they arrived, and despite her better judgment, Leah found her eyes wandering across the sand, searching out for Embry. To her shock, when she located him, she found that he was already watching her back and she quickly dropped her gaze.

He hadn't looked away when she peeked back at him a few minutes later either.

Shaking her head like the wolf she was, she attempted to brush off her uncertainty, and stalking after Seth, she proceeded to load up four plates with piles of food, saving one for her mother, and headed back to the fallen logs where everyone was seated.

As everyone settled down around her, she noticed that in addition to the usual suspects, Bella Swan was also in attendance. She frowned at her presence, surprised that the younger girl had been invited. Leah knew that she had kicked the Cullens to the curb a while back, crossing over the border straight into Jacob's willing arms, but most of the pack were still a little wary that she would break their brother's heart yet again, leaving them to pick up the pieces.

Noticing that Leah was looking at her, Bella smiled hesitantly, only to be rebuffed with a scowl. Leah didn't hate the girl, but she wasn't looking to be friends with her either.

Although, with the number of friends she currently had at the moment, maybe she should be snuggling up to the leech lover.

Food eaten, silence fell over the group when Billy rolled his wheelchair forward to tell the stories. As his words spun tales of the wolves and cold ones of the past, Leah surveyed the audience. Most were watching their chief, eyes bright and mouths agape at the stories. Two people's eyes weren't focused on Billy though.

Once again Embry met Leah's eyes with his and once again she looked away first, however, this time there was a witness to their odd exchange. As Leah glanced away she caught Bella looking curiously between her and Embry, a puzzled expression on her face. Just when Leah thought she was going to have to send the girl a warning glare, Jake nudged his companion and broke her inquisitive gaze.

Embry remained vigilant though. Leah felt his eyes on her through the whole of the bonfire although she refused to glance back in his direction again.

He completely confused her.

She had been so convinced throughout the week that Embry's kindness had just been a one off that she couldn't understand why he was staring at her now.

It was unsettling, and for the first time in a long time, Leah felt the heat of embarrassment creep up her neck and flush her cheeks. She was just glad that it was dark so no-one could see her overly girlish reaction.

She hadn't counted on little Bella Swan noticing Embry's fixed attention on her though, or Leah's own reaction to him watching her.

They were clearing away the mess from the fire and the barbecue, dumping any waste in the back of Bella's truck so she could dispose of it when she drove Billy and Jake home, when the younger girl began to speak.

"So, how've you been, Leah?"

She grunted something like "good thanks", but Bella didn't seem that put off by her overt hostility.

"Jake said that you're working now."

Leah was going to tear Jake a new one for gossiping like an old woman.

"Yeah, at the diner."

This time Bella appeared a little more taken aback by the short answer, and her voice wasn't as confident when she next spoke.

"That must be nice."

Okay. Enough was enough.

"What are you doing, Swan?"

"What? I don't know what you mean."

Leah scowled. "You're trying to make small talk and I hate small talk, so why don't you just spit out whatever it is you came here to say."

Bella took a step back and her bottom lip wavered a little. For a moment Leah thought that she had made the girl cry, but she regained her composure and lifted her chin defiantly. Leah could almost admire her for it.

"I didn't come out here to say anything. I was just trying to be polite."

"Why?" Leah had never interacted much with the girl before, she didn't get why she was making the effort now.

Bella sighed. "Because I just figured that with the pack around and all being guys, and the only girls being imprints that you might want a friend to talk to. And I guess I thought that maybe we could be friends."

Well, it was certainly a brazen offer. Leah couldn't decide whether it made her like Bella more or not, so she stuck to what she knew.

"Look, I'm sure you had this lovely vision of us being BFFs, but you broke my pack brother's heart and sent us into war twice. I'm not I'll ever trust you enough to be friends with you."

Bella's face dropped. "Oh, okay," she finally replied. "I just... I don't know. I figured if you ever wanted to talk then... but never mind."

Leah began to feel sorry for the younger girl. She seemed so sincere in her desire to be friends and she knew that the imprints weren't the most welcoming bunch of people. Bella's next words wiped all charitable thoughts from her head.

"I guess you've got Embry to talk to though, although I'm surprised that Jake didn't tell me about you two -"

Leah interrupted Bella sharply. "What did you say?" she demanded.

Bella frowned. "What do you mean?"

Leah clenched her eyes shut and counted to ten before she opened them again.

"I mean, what did you say about me and Embry?"

"Oh." Bella looked like she suddenly understood Leah's reaction. "I just assumed that you were together now. I mean, he couldn't take his eyes off you and you looked like you liked him too, so I... I'm sorry. I've obviously got the wrong impression."

"Yeah, you did." Leah immediately jumped at the ready excuse. "There's nothing going on between us, you got it?"

She meant to sound fierce and scary with that last sentence so Bella wouldn't question her any further, but her voice betrayed her, making her sound more unsure than usual – not exactly the impression she was trying to give.

Bella was somewhat reassured by the wavering in Leah's voice, because she straightened her shoulders and nodded, offering the older girl a supportive smile.

"I got it."

They stood in silence for a minute.

Finally, Leah's curiosity got the better of her. "He was looking at me?"

Thankfully, Bella didn't call her out on her sudden change of attitude. "He was. I don't think anyone else noticed though."

"Good. _Good_," Leah repeated. She looked at Bella. "Not that there's anything to see."

"Of course," Bella quickly agreed. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but wisely held her tongue.

"And no-one else noticed?" Leah felt compelled to check.

"I don't think so. Everyone else looked caught up in the stories."

"Right. Good."

It suddenly dawned on Leah that she had given away her confused feelings on the matter to Bella and despite her earlier unfriendliness, she would die of embarrassment if Bella revealed her suspicions to any of the other wolves.

She gripped the younger girl's forearm frantically. "Please don't say anything. It's not... We haven't..." She took a deep breath and tried again. "Nothing's going on but please don't say anything to anyone else. _Please_." She hated the begging tone in her voice.

Bella laid her hand over Leah's and patted it. "I promise. Anyway, you said there was nothing to talk about anyway, so what's there to say?"

In that moment, Leah thought that she could maybe learn to like Bella Swan.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"Hey, Bells!"

The shout came from further down the beach as Jake waved at the two of them and began pushing Billy in his wheelchair towards them.

The two girls broke apart and Leah stepped back uncomfortably.

"I should get going. Thanks for, you know, not saying anything."

"Any time."

Leah scurried back to where her family were waiting for her. In the distance, she could hear Jacob asking Bella what she had wanted. Luckily Bella managed to deflect his attention. Maybe having a friend who could wrap the Alpha around her little finger would be a good thing after all.

"Leah!" Seth called out as she approached. "Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know." She tried to sound casual. "Just talking to Bella." As if that was something she did every day.

A wide grin spread across her brother's face.

"Really? That's so awesome. She's great, isn't she? I knew you'd like her eventually. Maybe we can hang out with her and Jake some time."

Give the boy an inch and he ran a mile. He certainly was an enthusiastic puppy.

"Maybe," she agreed reluctantly.

"Great." He smiled. "Come on! I think Mom wants to go home soon."

Leah paused. She really wasn't in the mood to go back to her tiny, stifling room just yet.

"You go without me," she called to her brother who was already ahead of her. "I'm going to take a run first – get some fresh air."

He laughed. "You haven't got enough fresh air tonight?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Not with all you guys around, I haven't."

With a smile and a wave to her mother, Leah turned and jogged towards the trees that lined the beach. She had just disappeared into the cover of the forest, out of sight and hearing from anyone on the beach, when suddenly a hand shot out of the dark to stop her in her path.

She automatically turned and snarled at her attacker, only to be cut off mid-growl by his identity.

"Embry?"

He emerged from the shadows, his face serious.

"We need to talk."


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter for you all. I hope you all like it and thanks for continuing to read this story. I still don't own Twilight unfortunately.**

**Building Blocks**

_We need to talk._

Leah hated those four words. Nothing good ever came of them.

Sam had said them to her right before he explained that he didn't love her anymore, he now loved her cousin instead.

Her mom had said them to her when she had finally managed to phase back to human after turning into a wolf, only to find that her beloved daddy had lost his life.

And now Embry was saying them to her, a pathetically earnest look on his face.

His expression almost made Leah want to listen to him, but then she remembered how he had ignored her for the last two weeks and any feelings of goodwill disappeared. Her face settled into a frown.

"You wanna let go of my arm, Embry?"

The barely concealed threat in her voice was enough to make him look warily at his hand, but he bravely left it wrapped around her wrist. She growled impatiently at him.

To her surprise, he growled back.

Leah tried to forcibly tug her arm out of his grip, but while she was faster than the rest of the pack, their increased size and muscle mass meant that even Collin and Brady had her beat on brute strength.

They stayed frozen in position for a moment, teeth bared at each other, hovering on the cusp of violence.

A raucous laugh came through the trees about twenty feet away, and both their heads shot in that direction. Leah identified Paul and Quil's voices and nearly called out to them, but at the last minute she bit her tongue. She didn't want either of them speculating on what she and Embry were doing hiding in the forest and if she yelled for help they'd only see it as a weakness on her part. She had done everything possible to not appear girly, frail and weak to her pack mates; she wasn't going to undo all that hard work now.

The voices disappeared into the distance and she was alone with Embry once more. He didn't stay still though. Instead he gently but firmly began pulling her deeper into the forest, away from the trails and patrol routes.

Leah tried once more, futilely, to release herself from his grasp, but ended up following him just to keep herself from being dragged.

Finally, he stopped in a small clearing where the trees were packed closely together and Leah was certain that the only way they would be discovered was if a leech happened to stray in their direction.

She was now seriously pissed off.

Not only had Embry her, but he had now kidnapped her and dragged her into the middle of nowhere and for some reason, she had allowed him to do it.

Counting on him not expecting her resistance at this point, Leah swung at him with her free hand, enjoying the dull thud of impact and the crack as her fist disconnected his jaw.

He bellowed in pain and finally dropped her wrist, both hands coming up to probe delicately at his injury.

Leah stepped back, but for some reason she couldn't explain, didn't immediately run back to the beach and civilisation. A tiny part of her was curious about why Embry was so determined to talk to her when he had ignored her for so long. She was dreading whatever it was he had to say, but he had gone to so much effort to get her alone that, despite her anger at being manhandled into this situation, she hung around to find out.

"Fuck!" He had finally popped his jaw back into place. "That hurts like a bitch. What the fuck did you do that for?!"

Leah shrugged. "You wouldn't let me go. What did you expect?"

He swore loudly. "I didn't expect you to attempt to rearrange my face."

Leah felt a brief twinge of guilt, but schooled her face into a blank expression. "You wouldn't let me go," she repeated. "I won't let anyone push me about, Embry, not even you."

Dark eyes filled with confusion met hers, because he turned and walked over the opposite side of the clearing. Spinning to face her once more, he slumped down at the foot of a tree, one hand still rubbing over his aching jaw.

He sat there in silence for several minutes and finally Leah huffed and threw herself onto the soft ground as well. She wasn't going to stand there like an idiot if he was going to relax and make her feel paranoid.

She picked at the blades of grass at her feet, sneaking peeks at the boy opposite her out of the corner of her eyes.

Eventually the quiet got to her.

"So?"

Embry blinked. "So what?" he asked.

Leah rolled her eyes.

"You're the one who dragged me out here. You're the one who said we needed to talk. So talk."

She shifted her hands behind her body and leaned back on them so he wouldn't be able to tell just how badly she was shaking as she said that.

Embry leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together.

"Why have you been ignoring me? Is it because of the other night? I didn't mean to overstep the line if I did."

Leah gaped at him.

_Her_? Ignoring _him_?

"_Excuse me?!_ I've been ignoring you? _You've_ been ignoring _me_." She scrambled to her feet at the injustice of his accusation and glared down at him.

Embry scowled at her but didn't move from his relaxed position.

"That's total bullshit and you know it, Leah."

"It's not bullshit!" she protested. "I've seen you about six times in the last two weeks and each time you've said 'hi' and then ignored me. You haven't talked to me or sat near me or anything, apart from tonight when you stared at me during the whole bonfire."

Embry looked faintly embarrassed by that. "I didn't stare at you for the _whole_ bonfire."

"Bella said you did," she shot back at him. "She said you didn't take your eyes off me, which given that you wouldn't come within a mile of me just yesterday has me kind of confused."

"I didn't know you and Bella were such good friends," Embry muttered under his breath.

Leah felt strangely vindicated by that, his mumbled statement proof that he had indeed been staring.

"So?" she prompted again. "Why have you been ignoring _me_?"

"I haven't!" Embry surged to his feet and strode forward, forcing her to look upwards just to meet his eyes.

"Sure, I've only said hello to you recently. I haven't talked to you or hung out with you, but that's because every time I try to come near you, you turn away, or you find a reason to talk to Seth, or you suddenly decide that you're going to go home early. You're the one avoiding me, Leah."

A hot flush began to creep its way up Leah's neck.

She knew what he was talking about, but that wasn't her avoiding him, was it?

She was just protecting herself from getting hurt. He wouldn't talk to her so she wouldn't let him see that it bothered her. She didn't think she was stopping him from coming near her in any way.

"I'm not avoiding you. Why would I?" She was still determined not to let him see that his words were bothering her.

He blew out a gust of air in frustration and then tipped his head downwards to stare at her again.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "After what happened the other night, I didn't want to push you. I know you don't normally like the pack looking at you like you're a girl, so I just figured you were embarrassed that I'd seen you... like that," he added awkwardly. "So I thought that that was why you didn't want me anywhere near you."

He raised a hand and tentatively placed it on her shoulder. To both his surprise, and hers, she didn't immediately shrug him off.

"I shouldn't have reacted that way in front of you. It was stupid."

She tried to brush off her insecurities. Who cared if he thought she had been psychotic and pathetic that night? She could shrug it all off; shrug off her worries, and shrug off his concern. It had been a moment of weakness and now she was over it.

Now if only Embry would get that she was over it.

"You are entitled to your feelings, Leah. You don't need to brush them aside like that."

She shook her head. "I'm not brushing them aside. I'm just telling you that I was having a stupid moment and it's over and not a big deal. So, don't make it one, okay?"

Embry's hand fell from her shoulder. Leah could make out the faint look of disappointment on his face.

"Okay," he agreed. "If you want it like that -"

"I do," she interrupted him. "Just forget about it."

Embry took a step back, and then another, and hung his head. She really didn't like the defeat apparent in his posture and found herself shuffling forward. Even with her practically under his nose, he refused to look up at her.

Leah couldn't help feeling bad that she had shut him out so abruptly when she knew he meant well, but old habits die hard.

She swallowed heavily and licked her lips. "I didn't mean to avoid you," she offered.

He didn't reply and she felt compelled to keep talking.

"I didn't even know I was avoiding you. I thought you were avoiding me. I don't... I'm not..." She tried again. "I'm not great at letting other people...close."

Embry finally looked at her again, studying the expressions that crossed her face. She had preferred it a lot better when he wasn't looking at her like that. All her fears felt exposed in front of him when he looked at her like that.

Like he understood her.

Leah shook her head again. "I'm sorry."

He ran the back of his fingers over her cheek, the same way he had in the dark of her house that night. It made Leah shiver.

"I'm sorry too," he said. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just wanted to know what was going on. I wanted to help, if you'll let me."

In a mirror of that night, he cupped her cheeks and lifted her face so he was staring into her eyes. The intensity of emotion in his face was almost too much for her to bear.

"I don't want you to avoid me, Leah. I don't want you to feel awkward. I want to be your friend, if you'll let me."

_His friend._

He offered so much and so little at the same time.

Leah felt a pang of disappointment shoot through her, even though she had never wanted anything else from Embry in the first place.

But then maybe she had gotten her hopes up just a little when she had caught him checking out her ass. In that moment, she knew he had seen her as an attractive woman and a part of her had loved that, had loved that someone still saw her like that.

But, if he had suggested something more than friendship, she would've punched him again.

It would be nice to have someone other than Seth and her mother to talk to again though. Hell, between him and Bella, she was making friends all over the place today.

"Leah." He called her attention back to him. "Please."

She couldn't say no. He was offering her a lifeline and she would be stupid not to take it.

"Sure." She tried to smile. "Friends."

His answering smile was a lot wider and more genuine than her own. He looked so happy at her agreement, that she was almost convinced that she had made the right decision. She just had to cross her fingers that he didn't screw her over like all her other friends had done once Sam had vanished.

Leah had made her decision though. She would be friends with Embry, but she wouldn't expect anything else from him. It was dangerous to trust other people and she wasn't willing to put herself out there fully. Not just yet, anyway.

Embry was standing pretty close to her for just a friend, and Leah stepped back again, his hands falling from her face as she did. Taking his cue from her, Embry backed away and shoved his hands in the pockets of his cut-offs.

"Want to walk back to town with me," he offered, "seeing as we're friends now?"

Leah couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes at him, but she tempered it with a brief smile.

"Let's go."

She jerked her head in what she thought was the right direction and moved aside so that he could walk in front of her. It wasn't that she couldn't find her way back to La Push easily enough, but more that she didn't trust him to watch her back just yet. His earlier hesitance now replaced by a sly grin, Embry nodded at her and they began the walk back to the town.

When they reached the edge of the forest nearest her backyard, he paused and turned to face her.

"So," he began. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Leah quickly searched her memory and vaguely recalled Sam saying something about a pack meeting at the bonfire earlier that evening. "Oh right. Yeah, I'll see you then."

"And you'll actually talk to me then?" he prompted.

Leah scowled at the reminder. "Yes, I'll talk to you, although not if you're going to be a jerk about it."

He laughed.

"Love you too, Lee-Lee."

He disappeared before she could yell at him for using that hated nickname, but as she snuck quietly back into the house, she noticed that she was smiling again. Her fingers traced over her mouth as if she couldn't quite believe it.

Maybe being friends with Embry would be better than she expected. She could only pray that tomorrow he didn't let her down.

She slept soundly that night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's the latest chapter for you all. Apologies for the wait, I was trying to finish one of my other stories in the meantime, so cheers for sticking with me. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter and as usual, I must say that I don't own Twilight.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Building Blocks**

Being friends was awkward, that was all Leah could think.

She had thought it would be relatively easy – she vaguely remembered from when she was little that it wasn't especially hard – but then again back then she hadn't been known as being a bitter harpy.

The pack meeting that was held the day after the bonfire was strange for her. For so long she had resented Sam's command over her, still did as a matter of fact, that she had avoided spending as much time with her fellow brothers as she could. Normally she would rock up about half an hour late, scowl at Emily, swear at Sam and sneer at everyone else apart from Seth, before getting her patrol schedule for that week and getting out of there as soon as possible.

She still scowled and swore, but she was actually on time for once and forced herself to sit quietly between her brother and Embry for the duration of the meeting, before her patience finally snapped and she ran out of there.

The pack, for their part, had been mostly dumbfounded by her quiet presence and while they all watched her carefully, no-one said anything to set her off or provoke her. Even Paul had been on his best behaviour, perhaps sensing that Leah's patience hung by a thread.

The one after that had been slightly easier, but she was still being thrown more curious stares than she was comfortable with.

If being friends was difficult, then being nice was borderline impossible.

Still, she managed, and at the end of each meeting or shared patrol Embry would offer her a smile and a nod. She didn't like to admit it, but without his encouragement she was sure she would've instigated a bloodbath at some point.

Today though, it was too hot to worry about whether or not she really wanted to maim Sam for life. No vampires had been spotted or sensed in the last month, yet he still insisted on holding dreary pack meetings where he talked more than was necessary.

Leah yawned.

An unexpected heat wave had swept through Washington in the last week and the hot weather was putting her to sleep, even though she knew she should be trying to stay awake in case anything important was said. Across Emily's garden, she could see that Jake and Quil weren't in a much better state and Jared was out and out snoring.

Sam eventually sighed and clapped his hands together loudly, making everyone bolt upright from their half-prone positions.

"Okay, since clearly no-one is in the mood for this in this weather, Jared, you do a sweep in a minute and I'll patrol later and everyone else is excused for the day. I doubt in this sunny weather there'll be many leeches out and about anyway."

Everyone muttered agreements and began to slowly slope away back to their houses. Leah stretched, nearly hitting Seth in the face as she did so.

"Oops, sorry."

"No problem." Her little brother grinned at her. "What are you going to do now that we've got the afternoon off."

Leah yawned. "Probably sleep at this rate. How about you?"

"Colin's got a new surfboard, so me, Brady and him are going to go to the beach and try it out."

She smiled and ruffled his hair. Even with the amount that Seth had grown in the last year, when he was cheerful he still resembled an overexcited puppy.

"Have fun then and I'll catch you later. Do you need any money for food or anything?"

Seth pouted. "Don't we have anything in the house?"

"Nah." Leah shook her head. "Mom hasn't been grocery shopping yet and I don't want you bugging her when she's at work. Here."

She fished a twenty out of her pocket and held it up. Seth accepted it happily.

"You're the best, Leah."

He darted off to join his two friends and in the distance she could hear them arguing about how to best spend the gifted money.

"You're the best, Leah," a voice repeated teasingly from above her.

Shading her eyes with her hand, Leah peered upwards to see Embry towering over her. He offered her a hand and she let him pull her onto her feet. Looking around, she could see that nearly everyone had disappeared while she was talking to Seth. Only her and Embry remained.

Releasing his hand once she was upright, Leah began to stroll slowly back to the main road and her house, enjoying the sun on her face as she did. Embry walked quietly beside her.

"So," he began, attempting to sound casual, "what are you up to for the rest of the day?"

She shrugged. "I might try and catch up on my sleep. I pulled an all-nighter two nights ago so that Seth wouldn't be too tired for a math test at school and I haven't managed to catch that back up yet."

Embry bumped her shoulder with his. "Sleeping? That's your answer. On a beautiful day like today?"

Leah scowled at him, but she didn't really put her heart into it and he just laughed at her.

"Okay then, if your plans are so much more exciting that mine, what are you doing today?"

"I am going to the beach," he stated grandly. "And I think you should come with me?"

Leah stopped walking in the middle of the road. "To the beach?"

"Yes."

"With you?"

"That was the idea." Embry sounded less certain now.

Leah put her hands on her hips. "Who else is going?"

"No-one. Well, except Jake and Quil, but they don't count. And if Jake's there then Bella will probably be there too."

Leah sighed.

Embry rushed to reassure her. "Look, I know the others will be there, and I heard you talking to Seth who'll be down there at some point too, but if you come I promise I won't make you talk to anyone else if you don't want to. It'll just be you and me."

Leah deliberated. On the one hand, going to the beach would be fun. She couldn't remember when she had last been there for anything other than a council gathering, and Embry had just promised that if she went she could as anti-social as she liked. On the other hand, she knew that with this heat, chances were the rest of the pack and half of La Push would also have the same idea.

"I only have to talk to you?" she checked.

Embry smiled. He knew he had her then.

"Well, just me, and maybe the other three too."

She frowned at him.

"We'll even go to Second Beach as well if you like so as to avoid the crowds."

She caved. "Fine. But only if we go to Second Beach. First Beach will probably be packed anyway."

Now that she had agreed, Embry clearly wasn't about to let her out of his sight where she could change her mind. He escorted her to her house where she made him wait downstairs as she changed into her bikini and a decent sundress for the first time in over a year. Surveying herself in the mirror, she was reasonably pleased with her reflection.

She looked like a girl for once, rather than the mess she felt like after she had phased. Her body was toned, but not hard and for the first time she didn't curse the growth spurt that becoming a wolf had given her.

A small part of her hoped that Embry noticed her appearance today, but she quickly squashed that tiny voice down where it belonged.

They were friends. She'd agreed to be his friend. That was all.

If Embry's heavy gulp was any indication when she came down the stairs, he did notice the change in her appearance and Leah couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.

That reaction kept her in a good mood while they walked over to Embry's house so he could change into his swimming trucks and over to the Ateara's store to pick up a ton of snacks for their small party. It even sustained her when they had to walk past the rest of the pack and their imprints who had obviously had the same idea.

Feeling conciliatory, she smiled and greeted Kim when the younger girl waved hello to her, but couldn't quite do the same for her cousin. She settled for a nod; that would have to be enough.

She felt their stares on her back though, and heard their whispers about her not only making an appearance in public without being ordered to, but also that she had done so in the company of Embry. Sticking her chin up, she tried to ignore the hushed comments.

Embry nudged her with his hand and offered her a brief smile and she felt buoyed by his silent support. She did breathe a sigh of relief, however, when they reached the smaller group of wolves on the other end of the beach.

"Yo, Jake! Quil!" Embry called in greeting.

Both wolves were already watching them curiously as they approached, but smiled at the both of them. Bella was already sat with them in a plain white bikini and Leah was relieved to find that there was at least one person around who wasn't staring at them.

Feeling grateful to the younger girl, she called out. "Hey Bella."

The other girl turned around and scrambled to her feet as they reached the towels that had been spread out on the sand.

"Hi Leah. Hi Embry."

She gave Embry a hug in welcome and he dotted a light kiss on the side of her temple before releasing her. To Leah's surprise, Bella then darted forward and gave her a quick hug too, which she returned more out of shock than anything else.

"How are you guys doing?"

"We're good," Embry answered easily, unrolling his own towel and laying it out.

Leah copied his actions and set the bags she was carrying down before sitting down slowly. She felt a perverse sort of amusement that Bella appeared to be the only person not surprised by her showing up with Embry like this.

Bella retreated back to Jake's lap and flicked him on his nose when he continued to dart his eyes between Leah and Embry. His girlfriend's action made him shake his head and stop staring though.

"Leah, Embry." He fist-bumped his brother and then lightly punched Leah's shoulder. She accepted the gesture for what it was – cautious affection - and smiled at him back. "Good to see you both. He turned his attention back to his best friend. "I wasn't sure if you'd decided not to come down.

"Naw," Embry brushed him off. "We just had to stop off first to change and grab some food on our way."

Quil, who had been watching the two of them, his mouth wide open, suddenly snapped to attention.

"Food. You brought food? Awesome. I love food. What did you get?" He began rifling through the grocery bags and emerged with a pack of chips. Opening them, he began stuffing his face. "I don't care what you guys are doing together in your spare time. You bought chips. You rock!"

Embry glanced worriedly at Leah's response to his best friend's tactlessness but grinned when she burst out laughing at Quil's statement. Jacob shook his head, but creased up with laughter too.

They sat chatting for a while. Well, the boys and Bella chatted, Leah was quite content for once to just sit and listen, but she was strangely pleased inside that no matter her lack of input, they all made sure to still include her in the conversation.

It was nice. It was surprisingly normal and Leah found that she was actually enjoying herself.

"Leah! Leah!"

Her brother's cry turned her attention towards the water and he came running out of the sea and up to the group, leaving Colin and Brady behind him.

"You came out. That's awesome. Much better than sleeping."

"How's the surfboard?" she asked, hoping to distract him before he said anything embarrassing about her hermit-like tendencies in the past.

"Brilliant! The balance is really great, much better than his old one. You should try it."

Her on a surfboard while everyone stared? No thank you. She couldn't turn Seth down though, not when she knew he was pleased that she was finally interacting with the world once more. She'd never been able to say no to him any. He had the sad puppy-eyes look down even before he became a wolf.

"Maybe another time," she promised rashly.

His smile got wider. "Yeah, maybe when it's less busy."

She smiled and nodded and he turned him attention to the other members of the group.

"What about you guys? Anyone up for it? Hi Bella." This last bit was added quietly and when Leah looked up sharply at his tone of voice, she was amazed to see her brother's cheeks stained red.

Did he...?

He had a crush on Bella!

Luckily for Seth, 'cos Leah knew how territorial Jake could be, Bella didn't seem to notice and merely offered him a hello back.

"I'll have a go, if Colin's okay with it," Embry spoke up, bringing Leah's attention back to the matter in hand.

"Sure." Seth beamed. "He doesn't mind. He's only not over here asking himself 'cos he finds you a bit intimidating."

Huh! Another little tidbit about the pack that Leah wasn't aware of, although looking at the three boys who had stood up, she supposed that they were a few years older, and therefore cooler, than the pack's younger members. She sniggered inwardly at the thought that Sam, Paul and Jared might be seen as too old now to be cool.

Quil and Seth jogged back towards the water and after a quick word with Bella, Jake followed.

"Will you be alright here?"

It took Leah a second to work out that Embry was talking to her, probably worrying about her going off the rails if she was forced to speak to anyone else. She tried to reassure him with a smile, but wasn't quite sure if she managed to pull it off.

"I'll be fine. Go. Me and Bella will just chill here."

Embry hesitated for a moment, but then decided to take her at her word, waving as he sprinted towards where the other boys were dunking each other into the sea and throwing himself into the fray with a yell.

And then Leah was left alone. With Bella. Her new...friend.

Again she couldn't help but think that being friends was just more awkward than it was worth.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the latest chapter for you all. I hope you like it and thanks for continuing to read this story. As usual, I must add that I do not own Twilight.**

**Building Blocks**

They sat in silence for a good five minutes. Leah wasn't really sure what to say to Bella if anything at all, and the other girl seemed quite happy to just have company without feeling the need to talk. In one way it was incredibly relaxing for Leah to be around someone who didn't want anything from her. In another way though, it was stressful just waiting for the ball to drop and for Bella to start talking to her.

Struggling to know what to do, Leah grabbed the bag of chips that Quil had abandoned and stuffed a handful in her mouth. Keeping her eyes firmly away from the other group down the beach, she stared blankly out towards the ocean where her brother and his friends were playing about.

"It's nice to see them looking so relaxed, isn't it?"

Leah turned to find Bella also watching the boys in the water, a wistful smile on her face.

"They spend all of their time on edge, just waiting for the next disaster, that it's easy to forget that they're just teenagers sometimes," the other girl continued.

Leah frowned. "You make it sound like you're ancient by comparison."

Bella laughed. "I feel like it sometimes, like being with Edward aged me prematurely. Jake, despite everything he's seen and done, still acts his age." She smiled as with a yell, Embry and Jake managed to wrestle Quil underwater. "Case in point." She gestured towards the boys.

Finishing the chips, Leah crumpled the pack up and shoved it back in the bag.

Looking at Bella's smiling face, she nearly didn't ask her next question, but Leah had never been able to back away from painful subjects in the past and her curiosity got the better of her.

"Why did you stay with the leech for so long?"

Bella stiffened, the smile dropping from her face.

"I mean, Jake's loved you practically his whole life, but none of us thought you would ever choose him. We all just assumed that you were stringing him along. So...what made you change your mind?"

She had put her foot in it, Leah could tell straight away. Bella shoulders were practically around her ears and the group of wolves at the other end of the beach had fallen silent, perhaps waiting for her answer too.

"No, it's fine," the younger girl suddenly said, shaking her head.

Her words didn't make any sense, particularly given what Leah had asked, but as she looked at Bella, she saw that the girl wasn't speaking to her, but out towards the water. Following the direction of her gaze, Leah noticed that Jacob had begun wading back towards the beach, a fierce look on his face. Bella's words had stopped him in his tracks.

Jake's mouth didn't move, but it was almost like he and Bella were having a silent conversation that nobody else could hear.

"We're just talking. I'm okay. Go hang out."

Jacob paused for a minute longer and then he turned abruptly and dived underwater, appearing seconds later next to the surfboard that the younger wolves were playing around on.

Bella blushed when she realised the attention she was getting from Leah and the other wolves.

"He just worries about me," she half-explained.

Leah blinked. "How did you do that? He didn't even talk."

The red sheen to Bella face didn't disappear. "We're just...close." She sighed and then shuffled a little closer to Leah.

The other occupants of the beach seemed to get the message because the volume in that direction suddenly picked up again.

Leah kept her focus on Bella. Something told her that the younger girl didn't talk about this subject so often and that she was being taken into her confidence. It was a scary thought and one that Leah wasn't entirely sure she was ready for yet, but then she remembered how desperate she had been at times for someone friendly to talk to, who wouldn't judge.

It was a little surprising for her to find that maybe Bella was in the same position.

"Jake and I were best friends before we were together," Bella explained. "And it's like...he knows what I need and I know what he needs. We don't really have to talk about it a lot. So when you asked... He worries about me, especially when it comes to Edward and the wolves." Bella glanced along the beach. "I'm not really the most welcome person around here because of my relationship with the Cullens. Even though Jake and I have made our peace with the situation," she paused, and then shook her head, "I don't know."

"You think the rest of us don't understand?" Leah asked.

Bella pursed her lips in thought. "I think that living through something is very different from seeing the consequences in someone else's head."

That was something that Leah could understand.

Her and Sam's break-up, his relationship with Emily and her anger and heartbreak had all been played out under the microscope of wolf telepathy. Everyone knew what had happened, all the dirty, secret little details and thoughts, and everyone had an opinion on how the situation could have been handled differently. Honestly, she didn't see how she could have reacted any differently without rolling over and letting Sam and Emily walk all over her.

So she got it, almost.

That didn't mean she wasn't surprised though when Bella answered her earlier question.

"I stayed with Edward because I was afraid of what would happen to me and Jake if I gave in and let us have a chance. Being with Edward was easy and predictable and dependable. He would love me forever and I would never have to worry about him imprinting or growing up and growing apart from me. But I wasn't in love with him, not for a long time towards the end. I just couldn't make myself admit that I'd made a mistake and that maybe Jake really was worth the risk."

"He's worth more than your leech ever was," Leah couldn't help saying.

She expected Bella to get angry with her for that remark, but the other girl just nodded placidly.

"I know. He's worth everything, and I love him so much. More than I ever though I did." A small smile crossed her face before vanishing again. "So I took a chance on him and I'm so grateful that he forgave me and took me back. But that doesn't mean that I'm still not afraid." She turned and looked Leah in the eyes. "It just means that I decided that loving him was worth more than my fear."

Jake adored Bella. Everyone knew he would die for her, do anything for her.

"What do you have to be afraid of?" Leah asked cautiously. Something told her that she wouldn't like the answer.

"The same thing you do," Bella replied. "Imprinting. Him being taken away from me." She swirled her fingers idly around in the sand. "He would try to fight it, I know he would, but I'm not 100% sure that he would be capable of it." She pinned Leah under that knowing gaze again. "Isn't that what you're worried about with Embry?"

Habit made Leah deny the question. "Embry and I aren't together. Nothing like that. We're just friends."

Bella nodded thoughtfully and then smiled brightly, nudging Leah with her shoulder. "That's a shame. I think you two would make an adorable couple."

That comment seemed to magically lift the air between them and both girls giggled a little hysterically.

"Shut up." Leah pulled a face and then pushed Bella lightly in the arm. She had to remember to hold her strength though; she didn't think her future-Alpha would appreciate it if she accidentally punched a hole in his girlfriend's arm.

It was only when she stopped laughing that Leah realised just how much better she felt. Clearly there was something to be said for having friends and someone to talk it. It was also incredibly reassuring to realise that Bella wouldn't judge her for anything she said, and with that came the desire to actually talk to someone about her confused feelings.

"I like him," she admitted. "Not like _that_, but more than I thought I would. He's...sweet."

"He is," Bella agreed.

Her agreement reassured Leah.

"I'm just not sure that I'm ready for anything else, or that I ever will be."

Bella made a small noise of agreement. "You don't know if you'll feel differently in the future though."

"That's it exactly. I mean, he says he wants to be friends and that's actually quite cool, but what if he wants more?"

What if he wanted her to fall in love with him? What would she do then? She wasn't even sure if she was capable of a relationship anymore.

Bella patted her hand and then pulled back. "I think that if Embry says he wants to be your friend and get to know you then you should let him. You're not uncomfortable or anything around him, are you?"

"No," Leah admitted.

"Right then." Bella nodded. "Then if you're happy being friends, just be friends. There's no pressure on either of you that way."

Leah frowned. Bella made it all sound so simple when it really wasn't.

"But what about the future?"

Bella smiled sympathetically. "I think the future if out of our control, and I've learnt not to chase trouble anymore. If Embry ever decides that he wants more from you, then he'll let you know and you can make a decision about whether you want more from him too then."

"But until then you're telling me not to freak out." Leah pulled a face.

The other girl shrugged. "Well, with my dating history I'm not sure I should be telling you anything. I'm not really the best person at taking my advice when it comes to stuff like this."

Leah stifled a laugh at that.

"What I will say though," Bella continued, "is that you don't have to start from scratch with Embry. You know him, you know about his life and his past and he knows the same about you. He's not going to judge you and he's not going to push you when he knows you're unhappy about stuff. Whatever happens in the future between you, whether it's something or nothing, he's a good friend to have."

Leah could agree with that at least. "Yeah, he is."

Silence fell between her and Bella as they watched the antics of the boys in the water and she thought about everything they had talked about. Was she making too much of what was between them? Panicking over nothing? It wouldn't be the first time.

One thing that had clarified in her mind though, was that whatever happened, she wouldn't be judged for it. The reaction of Jake, Quil and the younger wolves today was proof of that. Sure, they had been surprised to see her show up with Embry, but she would bet that they would have been equally surprised if she had shown up to hang out with Seth too. And they had been nice. They hadn't called her out on her anti-social behaviour or that she had probably insulted all of them on patrol at one time or another. They had just accepted her into the fold without word or explanation needed.

Maybe that was just what she needed right now – to be accepted, to not feel like a nuisance or an inconvenience amongst them all. Embry's gentle encouragement had been a big part of that. So yes, maybe friendship was the way to go. She could work on that and then decide if she wanted it to go any further later.

After all, no-one was rushing her to make any key life decisions at the moment.

So she would ease herself into it all, and then maybe, just maybe...

"Leah! Bella!" Her little brother's call shook her out of her thoughts. "You guys have got to come in and try this out. It's not even cold." Seth waved frantically at them and then beckoned them towards the water. "Come on, you can't just sit there all day!"

The girls looked at each other.

"Do you want to go?" Bella asked. "'Cos I will if you will. I'm not going by myself though. Last time Quil dragged me underwater when I wasn't paying attention."

"Bella! Come on in." This time it was Jacob calling out.

Leah laughed. "And you really think I can protect you from that?"

Bella pulled a face. "Well no, but I don't have the super-strength needed to dunk him back."

Leah glanced towards the water and then back to Bella's hopeful face.

"Okay, let's go."

She stood up and brushed sand off her body before pulling her sundress over her head. Almost immediately a series of catcalls came from the group down the beach, mostly Paul, and she turned to glare at them.

"Looking good, Clearwater."

"Fuck off, Lahote," she yelled back.

Bella giggled nervously and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Looks like Paul's not the only one to notice your bikini." She gestured out towards the sea where Embry was staring unashamedly at Leah in the revealing clothing, and the she-wolf felt the uncommon urge to blush rising in her cheeks.

Trying to distract herself, so she didn't get ripped apart on the next patrol because her embarrassment, Leah tore her eyes away from Embry's appreciate gaze and immediately regretted it when she caught Sam looking at her in much the same way.

"Sam, Sam!" his imprint caught his attention once more and he turned away from her.

Leah suddenly felt very vulnerable standing out there in her bikini. All the power and beauty she had felt earlier vanished in a flash, leaving her staring at the floor and shuffling her feet, trying to ignore the stinging in her eyes.

Why did he do that?!

Every time she tried to move on or do something for her, there he was, dragging her back down again.

Hunching her shoulders, her fingers twitched back towards the sundress and she longed to be covered up and protected once more.

A small hand taking hers made her jump out of her misery and she looked up uncomprehendingly at Bella. The younger girl tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.

"Things like that don't help, do they?"

Leah glanced around, ignoring her ex-boyfriend who was being chewed out by his annoyed current fiancée, and focused her attention on the silent group of boys out in the water. Brady, Collin and Quil all appeared worried, while both Jacob and her brother had scowls on their faces which were directed towards the group of older wolves. Only Embry was looking directly at her, capturing her eyes with his.

He raised his chin slightly, a determined set to his face and Leah realised that he was challenging her not to run like she wanted to. The glare in his eyes was daring her to ignore Sam and come down to the water, to not let her ex-lover ruin everything.

"No, they don't," she answered Bella's question. "I hate it. But I can't stay stuck like this forever, can I?"

The other girl rewarded her with a genuine smile as she tugged her down towards the shoreline, shrieking when it became apparent that Seth had lied about the warm temperature. With a wicked laugh, Jacob appeared next to them and grabbing his protesting girlfriend, hauled her over to where the others had gathered around the surfboard.

Leah followed, swimming at a more sedate pace, steeling herself to appear unaffected by anything that had happened on the beach.

"Are you alright?" Embry asked when she had reached them all.

"I'm fine. Really," she added when he didn't look convinced. "Just looking forward to seeing whether I can stand up on the board, that's all."

Seth whooped in delight and immediately pushed Brady off the surfboard. "Come on, Leah." He gave an evil grin. "I promise I won't push you off."

The others laughed at that and Leah knew she was going to end up tipped underwater at some point.

Embry was still studying her, but when she smiled at her brother, he relaxed and grinned along with the others.

"As long as you're sure."

"I'm sure."

She wasn't, not totally anyway, but she was making small steps and like Bella said, she didn't have to make any decisions just yet.

As Seth boosted her up onto the surfboard and Quil and Embry held it steady, she thought that maybe this was enough for now.


End file.
